Cellula Robotics Ltd. recently landed a contract through Innovative Solutions Canada’s Testing Stream. They will be building and testing a hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) that will be used in underwater scenarios to measure a ship’s acoustic and magnetic signature.
This innovation is known as Imotus-S and it builds on Cellula’s existing commercial Imotus AUV, configuring it with an Ocean Sonics hydrophone and an Ocean Floor Geophysics self-compensating magnetometer. The plan is the to test the ability to deploy the Imotus-S from a marine vessel and provide magnetic and acoustic signature measurements in open water. If successful, this innovative capability would allow a deployed vessel to monitor its signature in, not only a timely manner, but also without leaving its station.
“We are thrilled to be working with the Department of National Defence on testing our solution that will complement and extend current vessel signature management capabilities” comments Jacqueline Nichols, Business Development. “With only two fixed ranges in Canada, Cellula hopes to reduce operational constraints where ships must travel to a range for measurement.”
The Imotus-S system test program will also compare data obtained to to that from traditional range measurements, thus paving the path to a shipborne, containerized solution in the form of a fleet currently under development at Cellula. Testing is currently scheduled for Q4 2022 near Saanich, BC.